1 of final 2 New Orleans jail escapees recaptured, authorities say

One of the final two escapees from a New Orleans jailbreak last month has been recaptured after six weeks on the run, authorities said Friday.

Antoine Massey, 33, is in custody, the U.S. Marshals Service has confirmed. He was located and arrested in a residence in New Orleans on Friday evening, according to the Louisiana State Police.

“Massey will be transported to a secure state correctional facility outside of the area,” Louisiana State Police said in a press release.

At the time of the escape, Massey was incarcerated for domestic abuse battery involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation, state police said, adding, “Additional charges may be forthcoming.”

Massey was among 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on May 16, according to Louisiana State Police.

Earlier this month, Louisiana authorities were investigating a video circulating online that appeared to show Massey pleading to rappers and President Donald Trump to help him while he was still on the run.

Derrick Groves, the other escapee, remains at large. He was convicted last year of two counts of second-degree murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras Day shooting and faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said. Unrelated to that case, he also subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, online court records show.

His girlfriend, Darriana Burton, was arrested this month for allegedly helping Groves escape, authorities said. She allegedly had an “active involvement in the planning phase of the escape,” according to the affidavit for her arrest warrant, including relaying “escape-related information” and coordinating communications between Groves and people outside the jail.

Authorities had increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of Massey and Groves to $50,000 per inmate last month, as police said at the time that they believed they were closing in on the “dangerous” fugitives.

The 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center in the early morning hours of May 16 after climbing through a hole behind a toilet. Their disappearance was not noticed for several hours and touched off a massive manhunt.

Burton is one of over a dozen people who have been arrested on suspicion of helping the escapees, including another inmate in the jail and a jail maintenance worker who is accused of shutting off water to the toilet allowing escapees to remove it.

Three of the 10 inmates who escaped were apprehended in New Orleans within the first 24 hours of the jailbreak. The others were captured in the following days, including in Baton Rouge and Texas.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.